HEC Montréal, Bocconi SDA and Southern Methodist University are launching a new international Master of Management in International Arts Management (IM) programme in Fall 2013, where students will do one semester in Milan, one in Montréal and one in Dallas. The program's mission is to train a new generation of managers who currently hold positions related to the international dimension of organizations active in the performing arts, in the heritage sector (museums, historic sites), or in cultural industries (film, publishing, sound recording, radio and television).

The IM programme is designed to

provide insight into management processes and the ways in which arts organizations operate within the various management disciplines, including marketing, fundraising, human resources, finance, production and distribution, and administration;

identify and encourage the development of best practices in arts and cultural management;

explore the impact of legal, economic and cultural policy on the arts;

address issues of international relevance to arts and cultural organizations, rigorously and in detail;

present students with theory, case studies, hands-on learning and empirical research in the field of arts and cultural management; and

provide a forum for challenging and debating theories and models, as well as their application in global arts and cultural practice.

At the end of the programme, students will have competency in four areas that are essential to the work of any cultural organization, based on the perspective that it is the artist who creates works of art and the manager who presents them to the world. These four competencies are:

designing and implementing a cultural project;

selling a cultural product in domestic and foreign markets;

ensuring the financial stability of the organization; and

mastery of the tools that support the organization.

Teaching methods used in the programme include theoretical courses, case studies, field work, lectures by world leaders in international cultural management, and visits to well-known cultural organizations and facilities. A 10-day campus abroad in a fourth country, in South America or Asia, will eventually be added if warranted by the number of students. The duration of the programme is 12 months. All students in the programme must be registered on a full-time basis in all three sessions.

Admission is an on-going process, with application deadlines on 15 November, 15 January and 1 April.